Richard J. Ducharme was appointed as the Senior Vice President of Operations in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Air Traffic Organization on October 7, 2010. This appointment is preceded by a career of 30 years in the FAA, with experiences leading, directing, and managing air traffic services in En Route and Oceanic, Terminal, and Systems Operations Services.

As Senior Vice President, Ducharme is responsible for safe, efficient, and secure air traffic operations across the entire National Airspace. The scope of responsibilities includes strategic leadership and direction for the operations of En Route & Oceanic Services, Terminal Services, Systems Operations, Technical Operations, Mission Support, and Technical Training.

Most recently, Ducharme served as the Vice President for En Route and Oceanic Services, and as the FAA’s Chief Negotiator for the 2009 National Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA) Contract. In this role, he served as FAA’s primary liaison with the Department of Transportation, the White House, and Congress regarding the status of these negotiations.

Ducharme previously served as Director for Terminal Mission Support, leading Air Traffic Organization Realignment for Terminal Services. He was responsible for developing the strategic initiatives, setting the performance goals needed to carryout the organizational changes, and delivering the field services, staff training, operations, and business support for more than 12,000 Terminal employees.

First joining the FAA as Air Traffic Control specialist in the Boston Logan International Airport in 1982, Ducharme gained progressive management experiences across the FAA, serving as Branch Manager for the Eastern Region of New York in 1993; as Air Traffic Manager at the ATCT in Philadelphia beginning in 1994; as Assistant Manager for the Eastern Regional Office in New York between 2000 – 2003, where he was assigned the lead to coordinate the Eastern region’s air traffic response to 9/11; and as Division Manager for the Eastern Regional Office from 2003 – 2007.

Prior to joining the FAA, Ducharme attended the University of Maine’s programs for Psychology and Sociology, and served in the U.S Air Force.